John Stonestreet and Roberto Rivera: The Pro-LGBT Equality Act Must be Stopped Because Religious Freedom is at Stake

May 15, 2019

After passing the House Judiciary Committee, the “Equality Act” will soon be passed by the House and will then be sent to the Senate. This legislation would extend the federal level protections of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Until recently, most of us believed there wasn’t much of a chance of the Equality Act ever becoming law. That’s because it was assumed that the GOP-majority Senate, which owes its electoral viability to the support of conservative Christians, would not allow it to happen. I hope that’s still the case, but there is reason to be concerned.

If the act is brought to a vote by the Senate, all that would be required is for a handful of Republicans to vote “Yes.” It appears that Senator Susan Collins of Maine could be one of the Act’s sponsors in the Senate. That’s one down, four to go. Thus, the Chamber’s endorsement could make the difference between defeat and passage.

In their statement, the Chamber of Commerce claimed, “Embracing equality has a profoundly positive impact on business performance,” and that “LGBT-inclusive companies enjoy higher revenue margins, attract better talent, and have lower employee turnover.”

In reality, however, The Equality Act does far more than outlaw discrimination. In the way Title VII would be amended, anyone who dissents from the new sexual orthodoxy would be comparable to the racists whose oppression of African-Americans made the Civil Rights Act of 1964 necessary. In the way the Equality Act would rewrite federal law, discrimination against LGBT people wouldn’t only be anything that would impede access to public accommodations; it would be anything, anything, less than fully affirming their sense of self.